


Birds and Bees and Butterflies

by misura



Category: Gouhou Drug | Legal Drug
Genre: Community: yaoi_challenge, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-02-09
Updated: 2007-02-09
Packaged: 2017-10-25 00:57:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/269925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kazahaya gets sick.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Birds and Bees and Butterflies

Some days, Rikuo reflected sourly, life simply refused to give you a bit of a break.

"Hey, big guy. Where's the cute, little guy?"

It hadn't been bad enough that that idiot of a Kazahaya had collapsed in the middle of work yesterday, prompting Kakei to order Rikuo to carry him home. No, he had to get a fever too, and be incapable of doing any work for at least a week. And of course, it was a week that promised to be a very busy one.

"At home, still in bed," Rikuo informed Saiga curtly, not looking up from his work.

"Oh-ho. Been a little too _hard_ on him last night?" Saiga chuckled. "I mean, I know they say love cures all, but there's love and _love_ , you know. Maybe you should have tried chicken-soup instead."

"I have no idea what you're suggesting," Rikuo said.

"Of course you do!" Saiga slapped him on the shoulder. "But that's okay! I'm sure Kazahaya likes them tall, dark and shy. After all, if he liked them tall, dark and handsome, you'd have had a big problem. I admit that I think the kid's cute, but oh well. Plenty more cute guys in the world. You can have this one, as long as you play nice with him. Which doesn't mean making him skip work."

"Is Kudo-kun skipping work?" Kakei asked, wandering over to take a look into the box to Rikuo's left and scribbling something on his clipboard. "That's not like him at all. I thought he needed the money."

"He's ill," Rikuo said.

"Oh dear." Kakei looked concerned. "I hope it's nothing serious."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Rikuo said.

"Home all by himself, no food, no water, no medicine, no friend nearby to distract him ... no TV," Saiga listed. "Perfect circumstances to make sure he's as good as new again tomorrow. All thanks to Rikuo here."

"Oh dear," Kakei said, again. "Are you sure you don't want to go home to take care of him, Rikuo? Of course, I'd need to dock your pay, but ... I'm sure Kudo-kun's good health is more important to you than money. The two of you are such good friends, after all."

"He doesn't need me," Rikuo said.

"Now, really, Rikuo. Hasn't a little birdie told you how nothing helps better against illness than knowing that someone who loves you is taking care of you?" Kakei smiled winningly at Rikuo.

"Tweet, tweet." Saiga grinned. "Go back to your little love-nest, Rikuo. Someone's _waiting_ for you."

"Do I have a choice?" Rikuo inquired, his expression sour.

"Of course," Kakei said.

"Not," Saiga added.

 

"This chicken-soup is way too salty!" Kazahaya complained, after having pointed out that the pillow Rikuo had given him was too hard, that the extra blankets Rikuo had covered him with were too warm, and that Rikuo's closing the door had been too loud. "Are you trying to poison me?"

"No, but if you keep this up, I might be tempted," Rikuo grumbled.

"What did you say?" Kazahaya demanded. "I can't hear you when you're mumbling like that!"

"This chicken-soup is fine," Rikuo declared. Before he'd left, Saiga had taken him aside to suggest he didn't do anything to 'excite' Kazahaya; it might keep the fever from going down. As far as any advice given by Saiga went, it had sounded sensible enough to Rikuo.

"Well, _you_ can eat it then. I'm not going to," Kazahaya declared.

"You're practically burning up with fever, you couldn't walk one step if your life depended on it, and you're _still_ bitching and whining at me." Rikuo shook his head. "Incredible."

"Drop dead!" Kazahaya pulled the blankets over his head. The same blankets which, five seconds ago, had been too warm. Rikuo sighed. This was not going to be a pleasant week.

Reluctantly, he dipped a spoon into the chicken-soup Kazahaya had stated to be too salty. As expected, it tasted just fine - no saltier than the omelettes Kazahaya always served him when he was pissed off about Rikuo having kicked him out of bed because he'd missed the alarm.

 

"And how is our patient feeling today?" Kakei beamed at Kazahaya, who smiled back weakly. His fever seemed to have gone down overnight, but Rikuo still hadn't felt he looked fit for work. Besides, it was Saturday; Kazahaya might as well stay in bed an extra two days to make sure he was fully recovered.

"I'm okay, Kakei-san," Kazahaya assured his visitor. "In fact, I feel great. I bet I'd have been just fine going to work again today, if only that big jerk would have let me." Kazahaya shot Rikuo a dirty look.

"What did I tell you about not exciting the patient?" Saiga inquired of Rikuo. "Although I'll grant you, he looks pretty good for someone who was near death less than two days ago. Guess you must have been doing something right."

"Now, Kudo-kun, don't be ungrateful," Kakei soothed. "Rikuo was simply worried for you. He cares about you a great deal, you know."

"If he does, he sure has a funny way of showing it," Kazahaya grumbled.

"You should read more shoujo, and less manga with guys who've got nothing better to do than angst and whine about their destiny," Saiga told Rikuo. "You don't get the romance-part right, and before you know it, you're getting your eye ripped out. 'Ouch' doesn't even come close to describing it."

"Oh, I'm sure nothing so dramatic is going to happen with Kudo-kun and Rikuo," Kakei said. "They're bright; they'll figure everything out soon enough."

"Figure _what_ out?" Kazahaya asked, blinking.

"You know, the birds and the bees." Saiga made a vague gesture.

"Never you worry about that now, Kudo-kun. Just concentrate on getting better." Kakei rose. "I'll be expecting to see both of you at work again Monday."

"I guess I'll be going too, then." Saiga followed Kakei, waving at the two of them before closing the door behind him and Kakei, leaving Kazahaya staring at Rikuo.

"What?" Rikuo demanded.

"Nothing." Kazahaya looked away.

Rikuo sighed, but kept his silence.

"Don't you have something better to do than sit here looking at me?" Kazahaya asked the wall.

"Not really," Rikuo replied. "Kakei won't let me into the shop until you're better."

"Kakei-san's a very nice person. He _cares_ about people," Kazahaya said. The implication that a Certain Other Person _didn't_ care was obvious, as was the identity of this Certain Other Person. Rikuo resisted the urge to groan. Kazahaya really wouldn't recognize genuine concern for his health if it fed him chicken-soup three times a day, four days in a row.

"Are you extremely innocent and naive, or just really dumb?" Rikuo scoffed.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Kazahaya demanded.

"One, Kakei is _not_ a nice person." And Rikuo would be saying that a lot less loud if he'd thought that Kakei might actually be able to hear him. Oh, sure, Kakei would never outright _say_ he was insulted, but there would just be that slightest bit of extra trouble on their next 'side-job', or some extremely bothersome customer who'd simply _happen_ to walk into the store when Rikuo was the only one there. Rikuo didn't believe all those small things that had gone wrong the last time he'd warned Kazahaya about Kakei's friendly invitation for a game of Mah-Jong were coincidences any more than that he believed Kakei was a nice person at heart.

"Two, I do care." Rikuo considered adding 'about people in general' but decided against it. He might as well see how Kazahaya would take that statement as it was.

Kazahaya gave him a look. Rikuo looked back.

"I suppose I should thank you for playing nurse," Kazahaya said at last, almost reluctantly.

"By all means, don't choke yourself." Rikuo snorted.

"Why do you always have to be so rude?" Kazahaya complained. "I'm trying to be polite here! I'm trying to thank you! The least you could do is be civilized in return!"

"Fine. You're incredibly grateful to me for caring and for feeding you chicken-soup that was too salty and medicines that tasted too horribly to possibly be any good. I've gotten the message," Rikuo said.

Kazahaya frowned, but apparently thought better of arguing about Rikuo's phrasing. "I guess I just wanted to add that if _you_ ever fall ill, I'll be happy to return the favor."

"It's not polite to lie," Rikuo commented. "Besides, I'd much rather have you be in my debt."

"In your debt?" Kazahaya repeated, suspicion written all over his face. "You want me to _pay_ you? That's just so low - and it's not going to happen anyway. I - "

"Why do you always think the worst of me?" Rikuo asked, grimacing.

"If it's not money, then what _do_ you want from me?" Kazahaya inquired.

"How about ... a kiss?" Rikuo proposed, watching Kazahaya's face turn from red to redder.

 

"A kiss? Four days of slaving and all he asks for is a _kiss_?" Saiga shook his head.

"I think it's cute," Kakei said. "Besides, Kudo-kun is still recovering from his illness."

"So? There's such a thing as the future, you know. Anticipation's all part of the fun."

"That should definitely have been one of _my_ lines."


End file.
